LAS CRUCES–The City Council of Las Cruces, after hearing testimony from NM Together for Healthcare family leaders who live in Doña Ana County, unanimously passed a resolution today in favor of continuing the state’s efforts in pursuing a Medicaid Buy-in plan–an innovative policy that would give New Mexicans the option to buy into Medicaid even if they are not currently eligible.

“I have been a promotora, a community health worker, for 15 years in Doña Ana County and have seen the great impact that lack of medical coverage has on New Mexico’s families,” said Maxi Urrutia, a Doña Ana County resident and Strong Families New Mexico healthcare advocate.

“Over 25,000 Doña Ana County residents currently don’t have health insurance, and my parents were a part of this group. They had to choose between paying for life-saving medical treatment and rent. No one should have to make that choice. We need to provide everyone with healthcare coverage they can afford.”

Urrutia is part of NM Together for Healthcare, a family-driven campaign of community members and organizations striving to ensure that every New Mexican has access to quality, affordable healthcare.

Allowing Las Cruces residents to buy into Medicaid would provide families whose employers do not offer healthcare insurance with affordable healthcare coverage. Families without health insurance do not get the medical care they need and often forego necessary medical treatment because it is too expensive.

“My father was a custodian in the public schools for over 20 years and had no medical coverage when he retired,” said Urrutia. “Both he and mother were diagnosed with serious medical conditions and weren’t able to get the treatment they needed because they didn’t have enough money. They both died from lack of medical attention.”

During the 2018 legislative session, memorials passed with bipartisan support in the New Mexico House and Senate in 2018, authorizing a study of the Medicaid Buy-in plan.

“My parents deserved a better way of living. They would still be here if they had access to medical coverage. That is why I am advocating healthcare for every New Mexican and support the Medicaid Buy-in,” said Urrutia.

The Las Cruces City Council will include this resolution in their legislative requests for the upcoming 2019 session and share the resolution with state legislators.

ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico’s Human Services Department proposed cuts to Medicaid would hurt families and violate federal law, said the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty in comments submitted yesterday on the department’s Centennial Care 2.0 waiver proposal.

“Everyone needs access to healthcare coverage,” said William Townley, an attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “But HSD’s proposed cuts to Medicaid would force many New Mexican families to go into debt or simply drop coverage. That’s bad news for all of us. We know that when people go without healthcare, it’s much harder for them to maintain their financial stability, be productive in the workforce, or continue their education.”

HSD’s proposal imposes new patient premiums on low-income adults living just above the poverty line. Research has shown that these fees will cause thousands of New Mexicans to lose healthcare coverage. For many low-income families, the proposed increase to $10 a month is prohibitive and would force them to choose between healthcare and other necessities like food, housing, and transportation.

Hospital bills are especially devastating for families on limited income, often ranging from $10,000 to over $100,000. Yet, HSD’s proposed cuts would also phase-out retroactive coverage, which pays for a Medicaid eligible person’s hospital and medical bills incurred up to three months before signing up for Medicaid. Phasing out retroactive coverage would put New Mexico’s families in jeopardy of severe medical debt and force healthcare providers to shoulder increased uncompensated care costs.

New Mexicans have voiced overwhelming opposition to HSD’s proposed cuts to Medicaid. Throughout the entire Centennial Care 2.0 waiver application process, patients, providers, stakeholders, researchers, advocates and community members were nearly unanimously opposed to these changes.

HSD’s proposed Medicaid cuts also violate federal law. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) can only approve waivers of federal Medicaid requirements that are listed under Section 1115 of the Medicaid Act. Provisions that govern cost-sharing, such as premiums, and retroactive coverage are outside of Section 1115, meaning CMS lacks legal authority to waive such requirements. CMS has not yet approved the regulatory changes proposed in HSD’s new regulations.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty is dedicated to advancing economic and social justice through education, advocacy, and litigation. We work with low-income New Mexicans to improve living conditions, increase opportunities, and protect the rights of people living in poverty.

ALBUQUERQUE—New Mexico organizations are fighting the Trump administration’s reckless new attack on our families: a greatly expanded “Public Charge” rule that essentially turns the U.S. immigration system into a pay-to-play game that unfairly favors the wealthy. If the proposed rule were to go into effect, it would allow the government to deny green cards and visa renewals to lawfully present immigrants who participate in programs that help with basic needs like medical care, food, and housing.

In New Mexico, immigrants make up a large part of our communities. Nearly one in 10 New Mexicans is an immigrant, and one in nine have immigrant parents. New Mexico stands to lose as many as 2,700 jobs and nearly $400 million in economic activity because eligible New Mexicans will forego federal benefits that flow directly into our local economy.

“Trump Charge is yet one more example of this administration’s agenda to target and persecute our communities,” said Fabiola Bawden, community organizer from El CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos. “We are proud of the economic, cultural, and social contributions that immigrant communities make in New Mexico and across the nation. We are ONE New Mexico and must continue to resist Trump’s attempts to push our families into further poverty, strip away legal protections that keep our families together, and rob us of the opportunity to fully integrate into the civic and economic life of the state and country we call home.”

Trump’s new rule dramatically expands the list of programs that jeopardize immigration status to include nearly all available basic need programs like Medicaid, housing assistance, and SNAP food assistance. Currently, the Public Charge rule only considers receipt of cash benefits and institutional care as a reason to deny lawfully present immigrants visa renewals or to deny their application for legal residency.

“No one should ever have to choose between putting food on the table and keeping their family together,” said Sovereign Hager, legal director of the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “At least 77,000 U.S. children in New Mexico live with at least one immigrant parent and are in a family that receives basic assistance. Kids who get assistance with basic needs are healthier, do better in school, and earn more in the future. If this rule goes into effect, we will all face the consequences for generations to come.”

“The Trump administration continues to target immigrant communities,” said Eduardo García of the New Mexico Immigrant Law Center. “This is an effort to create confusion and fear among immigrants and discourage immigration and the use of benefits for immigrant families who qualify. We encourage all New Mexicans to submit comments against the proposed rule and stand up against this drastic change in policy.”

The new rule will not be retroactive, so the current use of food and medical benefits do not fall under the proposed rule. The groups recommend that people concerned about their immigration status continue participating in benefits programs and speak to an immigration attorney. If the rule is approved, it will not go into effect immediately after it is published. Families will have time to make decisions about benefits then.

“Through our daily work, we witness the devastating impact that poverty and the associated toxic stress have on individuals’ and families’ psychological and emotional well-being. The Trump administration is attacking a significant portion of the hardworking families in our communities,” said William Wagner, PhD, LCSW, Director of Centro Savila. “We cannot sit by while the Trump administration increases hunger, poverty, and sickness in our nation while handing out deep tax cuts to the rich. This endangers our families, communities, our state, and our country.”

“Thousands of New Mexico children – most of whom are U.S. citizens – will likely lose access to services because their parents will terminate their health insurance, food assistance, and more as a result of these proposed changes to the public charge definition,” said James Jimenez, executive director of New Mexico Voices for Children, a child advocacy organization. “It’s unconscionable that the Trump administration would take actions that will harm children across the nation.”

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Centro Savila improves the mental health of our community by ensuring access to linguistically and culturally relevant, quality mental health and prevention services, education and healthcare professional development.

EL CENTRO de Igualdad y Derechos is a grassroots, immigrants’ rights and workers’ justice organization based in Central New Mexico that works with Latino immigrant communities and allies to defend, strengthen, and advance the rights of Albuquerque’s communities.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty is dedicated to advancing economic and social justice through education, advocacy, and litigation. We work with low-income New Mexicans to improve living conditions, increase opportunities, and protect the rights of people living in poverty.

New Mexico Voices for Children champions public policies that improve the well-being of New Mexico’s children, families, and communities in the areas of health, education, and economics through credible research and effective advocacy.

SANTA FE—New Mexico’s Human Services Department will hold a hearing on the serious cuts the Medicaid program faces in the Centennial Care 2.0 waiver proposal on Wednesday, October 24 in Santa Fe.

The waiver proposal imposes new excessive patient premiums on low-income adults living just above the poverty line. These fees will cause thousands of New Mexicans to lose healthcare coverage. The proposal would also phase out retroactive coverage, which is a protection that pays for a Medicaid eligible person’s hospital and medical bills incurred up to three months before signing up for Medicaid. Phasing out retroactive coverage would put New Mexico’s families in jeopardy of severe medical debt and leave healthcare providers with additional uncompensated care costs.

City Council moved by local and statewide support for innovative solution

ALBUQUERQUE—The Albuquerque City Council, after hearing from NM Together for Healthcare leaders from Albuquerque, passed a resolution today that supports the state’s commitment to exploring a proposal that would allow anyone to buy into a low-cost healthcare plan through Medicaid—including the uninsured who don’t qualify for Medicaid now.

“I support the Medicaid Buy-in because we all have the right to good health, and access to low-cost options will help many people,” said Evelyn Ramos, a Partnership for Community Action healthcare advocate and Albuquerque resident. “Since I am uninsured, I know how difficult it is to find healthcare coverage. When I do find services, I am given appointments months away.
I have daughters who get sick often, so it has helped my family to have them covered by Medicaid. But not everyone is eligible for Medicaid. We should open it up for everyone to access good healthcare.”

Medicaid is already a trusted, popular model that covers over 830,000
New Mexicans, including over 225,000 Bernalillo County residents. The plan would open up Medicaid for all New Mexican’s to buy into, providing low-cost coverage for the over 48,000 uninsured Bernalillo county residents. It would also provide affordable health insurance to individuals who are not eligible for Medicaid due to income or immigration status.

The plan could also help the economy by ensuring families have coverage to receive needed medical care before health conditions worsen, resulting in medical debt for families and uncompensated care costs for hospitals and providers.

“Without Medicaid, it would be extremely difficult for us to afford medical services for my daughters. We would probably go to the doctor in an emergency or when an illness has worsened,” said Ramos. “But undocumented people do not have access to Medicaid. It is important for us to find what we have in common—we all need good health.”

The Albuquerque City Council will share the resolution with state legislators and include this resolution in their legislative requests for the upcoming 2019 session.

ALBUQUERQUE—Albuquerque healthcare leaders in the New Mexico Together for Healthcare campaign will present a resolution to the Albuquerque City Council today that supports the state’s exploration of an innovative plan that would allow New Mexicans to buy-in to the proven, trusted Medicaid healthcare system. The city council is expected to pass the resolution at its 5 p.m. meeting this evening.

The buy-in plan would allow New Mexicans to buy into the Medicaid program for healthcare coverage—even if they are not currently eligible for Medicaid— providing a more affordable, high-quality healthcare coverage option.

With more than 48,000 people in Bernalillo County currently without health insurance, a Medicaid buy-in plan would make quality healthcare coverage more accessible for many local residents. Albuquerqueans have reached out to the city councilors and urged them to support the resolution.

WHAT:
The Albuquerque City Council will vote on an important resolution supporting the state’s work to explore a Medicaid Buy-in plan.

ALBUQUERQUE — On Friday, New Mexico’s Legislative Education Study Committee will hear a platform of proposed remedies that would satisfy the recent state court ruling requirements on the consolidated lawsuit Yazzie v. State of New Mexico and Martinez v. State of New Mexico, which found that the state was not providing New Mexico students with a sufficient education as required by the state constitution.

The lawsuit was brought by families and school districts represented by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and families represented by MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund).

Over a hundred people from across the state, including educators, advocates, tribal leaders, and families, agreed upon a platform that greatly expands access to culturally and linguistically relevant curricula, enhances teacher supports, and promotes proven, research-based programs such as universal pre-K and K-5 Plus, extends the school year, lowers class size, and increases funding for the At-Risk Index.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and MALDEF will present to the LESC.

WHAT:
Legislative Education Study Committee hearing on proposed remedies adhering to the recent state court ruling requirements on the consolidated lawsuit Yazzie v. State of New Mexico and Martinez v. State of New Mexico.

SANTA FE—Access to quality and affordable child care is critical for working families and parents who are in school. Unfortunately, the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has been illegally and arbitrarily denying eligible families much needed child care assistance. Several parents and OLÉ, represented by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty, sued the agency late yesterday in First Judicial District Court for violating New Mexico’s state laws and constitution.

“We should all be able to go to work knowing we’re leaving our children in good hands,” said Annette Torres, one of the plaintiffs in the Torres v Jacobson lawsuit. “I really cannot tell you how devastated I was when CYFD denied me child care assistance. It’s just been a tremendous struggle to make ends meet. Without child care, I wouldn’t be able to work.”

Families represented in the lawsuit include a parent who will not be able to return to her managerial job because she cannot afford full time child care. Instead, she will take another job with a different employer for less hours and lower wages. Other parents in the lawsuit are preschool teachers and a medical assistant who cannot afford the ever changing and unpredictable co-pays, some as high as $400 a month, that CYFD assigns to them.

The Torres v Jacobson lawsuit claims that CYFD illegally established a policy of denying child care assistance to families with incomes over 150 percent of the federal poverty level—a yearly income of $31,170 for a family of three—without publishing a regulation or going through the required public comment and hearing process. CYFD’s own regulations state that the eligibility for child care assistance is considerably higher, set at 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Families still experience financial hardship even with incomes above 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

CYFD also illegally turns away families looking for child care assistance without informing them of their right to challenge a denial of benefits.

“We know that the earliest years in children’s lives are the most important in their development and lay the foundation for all that is to come,” said Monica Ault, attorney with the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “All working families need access to affordable childcare and preschool that they can trust. Families denied child care assistance have had to turn down work opportunities, drop out of school, or are forced to seek alternative care that is often low-quality and not developmentally appropriate for their children.”

When CYFD does provide child care assistance, it illegally forces families to shell out unaffordable co-pays without explanation of how it determined the amounts. CYFD’s methods for calculating copayment amounts are arbitrary and have not been established through a public and transparent rulemaking process as required by law. The agency will not explain how it determines copayments beyond saying that the computer system does it.

The federal government has established seven percent of income as a benchmark of affordability for child care assistance. However, CYFD sets co-payments considerably higher for a large share of families. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit shoulder child care costs of over 10 percent of family income.

“Our family has had to make many sacrifices so that my wife and I can go to work knowing that our children are getting safe, quality care,” said John Cambra whose wife is a plaintiff. “It’s been incredibly difficult to make things work. Our co-pays were so high that we’ve had to go without transportation and ask our families to help us with things like diapers and wipes for our children.”

“One often insurmountable barrier to financial security for many families is the high cost of child care, and this is especially true for low-wage workers,” added Traeshaun Buffin a community organizer at OLÉ. “The astronomical costs prevent tens of thousands of New Mexican families with children from accessing meaningful work and educational opportunities. CYFD should stop denying eligible families the child care assistance they need. CYFD needs to adopt standards with public input to make the program affordable and predictable.”

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty is dedicated to advancing economic and social justice through education, advocacy, and litigation. We work with low-income New Mexicans to improve living conditions, increase opportunities, and protect the rights of people living in poverty.

OLÉ is a non-profit, who uses grassroots organizing within the local community of working families in New Mexico. Our members and staff work together to strengthen our communities through social advocacy and economic reform, using issue-based campaigns and electoral engagement to ensure that working families are playing a critical role in shaping New Mexico’s future with a united voice.

ALBUQUERQUE—In a reckless new attack on immigrant families, the Trump administration has proposed a federal rule that would allow the government to deny green cards and visa renewals to immigrants who have participated in programs that help with basic needs like medical care, food, and housing.

The rule change primarily impacts lawfully present immigrants applying for green cards and immigrants seeking entry to the U.S. through family-based petitions. It will significantly disrupt access to food, healthcare, and shelter for millions of immigrant families nationwide and hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans.

“No family should have to choose between meeting basic needs and being with their loved ones,” said Sovereign Hager, legal director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.

Trump’s new rule drastically expands the list of programs that jeopardize immigration status to include nearly all available basic need programs like Medicaid and SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. The “public charge” rule currently only considers receipt of cash benefits and institutional care as a public charge reason to deny immigrants admission to U.S. or to deny their application for legal residency. The new rule will not be retroactive, so the current use of food and medical benefits do not fall under the proposed rule.

19.8 million children in the U.S. live with at least one immigrant parent. When eligible family members cannot access food assistance because they fear immigration consequences, the entire family has reduced access to food. Nearly five million citizen children and at least 30,000 U.S. citizen children in New Mexico may face a reduction in food benefits.

“The latest scheme unfairly changes the rules for families who’ve waited for years to be reunited,” said Sireesha Manne, executive director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty. “It creates a pay-to-play immigration system where green cards go to the highest bidders in wealthier households.”

The Trump administration’s policy agenda is already causing immigrants to forgo crucial assistance for themselves and their citizen children for fear of being targeted for deportation. By penalizing families for accepting help with food and medical care for which they are eligible, the policy will increase inequality and make us a sicker, hungrier, poorer nation.

The New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty denounces this cruel and reckless public charge proposal. In the weeks and months to come, the organization will work tirelessly to mobilize with state and national partners to oppose the proposed rule.

“The best way to strengthen our country is to ensure that all families who live in it can meet their basic needs. All families have a human right to food, medical care, and shelter to thrive and contribute to their communities and our country,” said Hager. “These cruel attacks on immigrant families must stop for our nation to end inequality and increase opportunity.”

Board of Trustees moved by local support and statewide momentum

ANTHONY– The City of Anthony’s Board of Trustees, after hearing testimony from NM Together for Healthcare family leaders who live in Anthony, passed a resolution on Monday in favor of continuing the state’s efforts to shape a healthcare solution that would open up Medicaid for any New Mexican to buy into — regardless of their current Medicaid eligibility.

“All New Mexican families should have health insurance that allows them economic security and good health,” said Vanessa Urbina, Anthony resident and Strong Families New Mexico healthcare advocate. “Unfortunately, many New Mexican families, including over 25,000 Doña Ana County residents, do not have health insurance. Medicaid has worked for my family and many others. We should build on Medicaid by opening it up for everyone.”

Medicaid is a trusted program that provides quality, affordable healthcare to over 100,000 people in Doña Ana County. A well-designed Medicaid Buy-in plan would allow Anthony residents — like those that don’t qualify for Medicaid because of income or citizenship status—to buy into healthcare coverage offered through Medicaid.

Having more New Mexicans covered would reduce uncompensated care costs that are shifted to doctors and hospitals and reduce medical debt among families trying to build financial security.

“For some years, my husband and I could not walk without pain in our hips and waist, but thanks to Medicaid, we received the treatment we needed,” said Ramona Urbina, another a long-time Anthony resident and Strong Families healthcare leader. “Today my husband can work and so can I. We can still pay our bills. Everyone should have the right of good healthcare that they can afford.”

New Mexican leaders like the Urbina family are part of the NM Together for Healthcare campaign, a movement of diverse families and organizations from across the state working to build support for a Medicaid Buy-in plan.

“Medicaid has helped my family improve their quality of life. My father had been running his own business for 20 plus years, and I was able to finish my University Bachelor degree in Public Health because we’ve been able to manage our health, focus on our goals, and go to the hospital without going into debt,” said Vanessa Urbina. “But many families are not eligible for Medicaid due to immigration status, or they just don’t know they are eligible. We are fighting to make sure that every New Mexican family has the chance to be healthy and create opportunities for themselves.”

The City of Anthony’s Board of Trustees will include this resolution in their legislative requests for the upcoming 2019 session and share the resolution with state legislators.